We also use the DM20, and have found it to be an effective and reliable
item.   It is also useful as it can be used along side Dragon. 


Simon Morris 
[log in to unmask] 
Direct Dial 01642 342279 
Fax 01642 342289 

-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Graham Rice
Sent: 23 November 2005 15:40
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: iPods

Tim 

I continually evaluate different recording devices in order to advise
the
assessors here at CCPD, University of Westminster. At the moment my
preferred digital recorder is the Olympus DM20 which, though it only has
128Mb to save recordings, it works well with both PCs and Macs and has
the
facility to transfer data and play music.

I have recently been evaluating an Olympus DS2200 which appears the same
as
the DM20 but uses XD cards rather than internal memory, allowing for up
to
512Mb (data /recordings) to be held on the recorder. This can be
supplemented by additional XD cards, if needed. 

I have used the Griffin iTalk and Belkin universal microphone adaptor
and
voice recorder with a 4th generation iPod. These attachments utilize the
voice recorder software provided by the iPod models with dock
connectors. 
They plug directly into the iPod allowing you to record what you want -
music, ramblings or lectures - as an 8 kHz .wav file. When using the
iPod
and the different adapters in lectures and group work I found the
recordings
to be quite good when recording personal thoughts but not for group work
or
lectures (even when using specialist directional microphones), where
there
was often too much noise from other people to distinguish main speaker
or
lecturer.

My understanding of the iPods used in US universities is that the
lecture
was recorded separately / professionally and the resulting file was made
available later for download from the university intranet, so the iPods
weren't expected to record the lectures directly.

Below is a list of all iPods that do and don't work with iTalk or Belkin
universal microphone adaptor (courtesy of Microlink PC):

IPOD TYPE             DO or DON'T work with iTalk or Belkin voice
adaptors

1st Generation 						DON'T
2nd Generation 						DON'T
3rd Generation 15, 20, 40gb				DO
4th Generation 						DO
5th Generation (iPod with video) 30 and 60gb		DON'T

iPod mini  						DON'T
IPod shuffle 						DON'T
iPod photo						DO
iPod nano						DON'T

The new iPod 5th Generation / video (UK, Oct 05) is meant to have
improved
audio recording capabilities 22.05 kHz monaural and 44.1 kHz stereo,
compared to 8 kHz of the previous models. Apparently Apple has removed
the
top wired remote jack, so that none of the existing microphone
attachments
from either Griffin or Belkin are compatible with the new 5th
Generation.
Hopefully we'll see some compatible adapters soon. 

As yet I haven't had the opportunity to play with a iPod 5th Generation
so
there may be some one out there who has more precise information
regarding
the new model.

Regards
Graham Rice, Technician

Central London Assessment Centre
University of Westminster
72 Great Portland Street
London W1W 7NH

Tel: +44 020 7915 5428
Fax: +44 020 7911 5162 

On 23 Nov 2005, at 10:36, Tim Cunningham wrote:

> Hi all
> I got this idea from seeing something similar on the news a while ago 
> and just wondered if anyone had any first hand experience with it.
>
> We have a number of different recording devices here that we loan to

> students who are waiting for their DSA funding to be processed.
>
> These recording devices range from Minidisks and digital recorders 
> down to an old style cassette walkman.
>
> Ideally I'd like all the students to be able to use a digital 
> recorder, that way they can record their lectures/notes and archive 
> them on to their PC/Laptop.
>
> The digital recorders we use all have removable media in the form of a

> memory card which is normally about 128MB.  This will normally record 
> a couple of hours of lectures.
>
> However, I noticed a University in the US give out iPods to all 
> students with the detachable microphone that they can use to record 
> lectures.
> Obviously they will be used for playing music too but the same can be 
> said for loaned laptops etc - no doubt non-educational sites and games

> will be viewed and ran!
>
> Do any UK based Universities loan out iPods for recording lectures?

> Once the lectures are on an iPod can they be moved to a student's 
> laptop/ PC?  A budget iPod can store 2-4GB and for a little extra 
> money you can get a 30GB or 60GB model.
>
> If anyone does use an iPod to record or is responsible for loaning 
> them out to students I'd be very interested to here both on or off 
> list.
>
> Many thanks
> Tim Cunningham
>
> --
> Tim Cunningham
> Disabilities Support Technician
> Northumbria University
>
> Tel: 0191 243 7686
> Mob: 0797 497 2954
>
> http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/disabilities 
>
>
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